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Pfizer and BioNTech stocks have jumped in response to receiving ‘Fast Track’ status on their coronavirus vaccine candidates. PFE and BNTX prices are rising.
Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ: BNTX) stocks surged after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the companies’ joint coronavirus vaccine candidates a Fast Track designation. The companies are making headway in the race to develop a vaccine to combat the global health crisis. As a result, Pfizer stock increased by 2.3% while BioNTech jumped 5.3% in pre-market trading on Monday.
Presently trading at $79.78, BioNTech stock increased by 13.39% over its previous close of $70.36. In just a month, the German biotech firm’s stock rose by over 90%. Similarly, Pfizer stock has surged by 5.11% in less than 24 hours. Beating its previous close of $33.83, PFE is currently trading at $35.57. Although Pfizer’s year-to-date performance shows a 9.78% loss, the company’s stock has increased in the past month. It also jumped 2.43% in the last five days.
BioNTech and Pfizer Efforts Against Coronavirus
The two vaccine candidates, BNT162b1 and BNT162b2, are undergoing clinical trials in the U.S. and Germany.
Pfizer Senior Vice President of Global Regulatory Affairs Peter Honig said:
“The FDA’s decision to grant these two COVID-19 vaccine candidates Fast Track designation signifies an important milestone in the effort to develop a safe and effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. We look forward to continue working closely with the FDA throughout the clinical development of this program, Project Lightspeed, to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these vaccine candidates.”
If the vaccine candidates receive full approval, both companies hope to produce not less than 100 million doses by the end of 2020. Also, BioNTech and Pfizer expect to make more than 1.2 billion doses by the end of 2021. Awaiting regulatory approval, the companies plan to begin another clinical trial with nearly 30,000 participants in July.
According to the CEO of BioNTech Ugur Sahin the vaccine candidates will be ready for approval by December. Sahin revealed this in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.
However, Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla is more optimistic. In a Time interview, he said that he believes the FDA approval will come as soon as October. Bourla said:
“We should be able in the September time frame to have enough data to say if the vaccine works or not. And to submit that to the FDA. [We will get a] potential approval in October, if we are lucky.”
Recently, there has been an alarming increase in confirmed coronavirus cases. The U.S. has reported 60,000 cases for three consecutive days. Despite the increase, the U.S. stock market grew. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) jumped 500 points, nearly 2%. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP: .INX) also surged 47.82 points and the Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) gained over 1.5%.
Other Coronavirus Vaccine Candidates
More than twenty companies are working on C0VID-19 vaccines.
Ahead of Pfizer and BioNTech, Moderna Inc (NASDAQ: MRNA) is getting set to launch a Phase 3 trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Initially scheduled for early July, Moderna postponed the phase 3 trials for its mRNA-1273 vaccine candidate. In a report by HospiMedica.com, Moderna has demonstrated that its vaccine candidate could be effective in preventing COVID-19 with a single dose.
Tolu is a cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiast based in Lagos. He likes to demystify crypto stories to the bare basics so that anyone anywhere can understand without too much background knowledge.
When he’s not neck-deep in crypto stories, Tolu enjoys music, loves to sing and is an avid movie lover.
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